Under intense pressure from angry Republicans, House Speaker John Boehner agreed late Wednesday to a vote this week on aid for Superstorm Sandy recovery. He will schedule a vote Friday for $9 billion for the national flood insurance program and another on Jan. 15 for another $51 billion in aid.

Republicans and Democrats from New York and New Jersey lashed out at House Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday for pulling legislation on Hurricane Sandy aid, demanding that he reverse course and allow a vote as their constituents continue to struggle with the aftermath of the devastating storm. President Barack Obama called for an immediate House vote, and governors of the two states called House inaction a "dereliction of duty."

As the days without power stretched on for hundreds of thousands after Superstorm Sandy, patience turned to anger. But an AP analysis of outages from other big storms shows that the time it took to utility companies to restore electricity was no worse than average -- and in some places, actually faster.

The New York Stock Exchange will close its trading floor Monday as Hurricane Sandy barrels its way up the Northeast, but Big Board trading will continue electronically. NYSE Euronext said Sunday it is putting in place its contingency plans beginning Monday and will announce later when the trading floor will reopen.

A new database, created as part of the New York settlement with insurance companies over out-of-network coverage, estimates the cost of a wide range of different procedures. The tool gives consumers a better idea of their expected bills.

After increases during 2007 and 2008 in the number of unionized workers, 2010 is following 2009 in showing a big drop. Governments now employ more union labor than the private sector does, but both categories showed declines in 2010. It's a far cry from labor's glory years.

Steven Rattner has reached an agreement with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to settle allegations that the former "car czar" paid a state official to steer state pension-fund business to Rattner's Manhattan-based private-equity firm several years ago.

Should Ernst & Young be held responsible for the bad actions of Lehman Brothers? New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who Tuesday slapped the Big Four audit firm with civil fraud charges, thinks so. But it's not an easy question to answer.

Accounting giant Ernst & Young is expected to face civil fraud charges by New York prosecutors over its alleged role in the spectacular collapse of Lehman Brothers. The lawsuit would mark the first time a Big Four accountant has been charged in regard to the financial crisis.

Alan Hevesi, the former comptroller of New York state, has pled guilty to corruption charges that he accepted campaign money and gifts from a California venture capitalist in exchange for directing pension-fund money to the donor's firm.

The financial crisis was produced by a complex set of circumstances, including a massive housing bubble, poor regulation and irresponsible lending on an epic scale. A handful of bankers became the public faces of the crisis, and now, two years later, we take a look at what became of them.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Westcon Group North America agreed to pay $48 million to settle charges they paid kickbacks and referral fees to win government business, and then recouped those costs and more by overcharging the government for their services.

When BHP Billiton made its offer to acquire Potash Corp., two residents of Madrid, Spain, made $1.1 million by buying out-of-the-money call options ahead of the announcement, the Securities and Exchange Commission claims. The SEC is suing the investors, and has frozen $1.1 million of their assets.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has sued Bank of America over its Merrill Lynch takeover, claiming it failed to disclose what bad shape Merrill was in before shareholders voted on the deal. Responses to the charges have been filed, with ex-CEO Ken Lewis' the most aggressive.

Two Marsh & McLellan executives who were convicted in an insurance industry bid-rigging case saw their convictions overturned Wednesday because the New York Attorney General's office failed to turn over 700,000 documents, including exculpatory and impeaching evidence.

In this climate, any banker in his right mind will think twice before taking more than the usual share of risk. And generally, low risk equals low profits. Plus, financial reform could cut off some of Wall Street's most lucrative income streams.